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Indonesia joins Russia and Turkey as the top performing international equity ETFs since the bear market lows, surging more than 200% over the last year. IDX is designed to replicate the performance of the
Market Vectors Indonesia Index, and maintains significant allocations to the financial services and materials industries.

Indonesia is one of the lesser-known
emerging markets, but also one of the fastest-growing. The resource rich nation is home to numerous valuable commodities, including coffee, palm oil, rubber and rice.

As the recession set in during the second half of 2008, few industries were hit as hard as coal, as dimming economic prospects translated into a reduced need for the energy source that powers many of the world's factories and manufacturing operations.

KOL closed near $56 per share in June 2008 and then slid to nearly $11 five months later. But over the last year, this ETF, which includes coal miners and producers, equipment makers and technology firms, has surged. KOL has gained about 228% over the last 52 weeks.

Another coal ETF, the
PowerShares Global Coal Portfolio(PKOL) is up an almost as impressive 175% over the last year.

At the height of the financial crisis, preferred stock issued by big banks became a very risky asset that some investors feared would lose all of its value. The wave of irrational fear that swept over markets punished this fund too severely, setting it up for a huge run following the market bottom. For investors who were able to identify PGF as a buy near the market bottom, the reward has been a significant one: This fund is up more than 261% over the last year.

At the time of publication, Johnston had no positions in securities mentioned.

Michael Johnston is the senior analyst and founder of ETF Database, a Web-based investment resource providing actionable ETF investment ideas and an ETF Screener for investors analyzing potential ETF investments. Johnston oversees ETF Database's free ETF Newsletter, one of the most popular sources for news and commentary focusing exclusively on the exchange-traded fund industry. Johnston also maintains and develops content for ETFdb Pro, a line of analyst reports and model portfolios designed to help investors utilize ETFs to meet their investment goals.

Johnston has completed the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program, and obtained his bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Notre Dame. Prior to founding ETF Database, Michael worked in a private client service group performing valuations of companies operating in a wide range of industries.

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